Rwanda’s new cabinet takes oath

President Paul Kagame this Thursday officiated at the swearing-in ceremony of his new cabinet. The event at Parliament saw all new ministers and state ministers - besides Ministers Claver Gatete of Finance Economic Planning, Jean Philbert Nsengimana of ICT and State Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe of Foreign Affairs and EAC sworn-in.

The new cabinet swears in a few hours after they were appointed; and a day after the new Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente took his oath. The reshuffle comes after Paul Kagame’s re-election and inauguration earlier this month.

Speaking at the event, President Kagame expressed confidence in the new cabinet, emphasising that he has no doubt whatsoever in their understanding of Rwandans’ expectations.

“We must strive to always do more, faster and better: that is our uniqueness - ubudasa. We owe this to our people. We are a landlocked country. We face challenges that are different from our neighbouring countries'. To solve these issues, we need to do things differently. We can't afford to live in a ‘comfort zone’,” President Kagame said.

The President further reminded the new cabinet that comfort only serves to increase the cost of what the country wants to achieve.

“We always stress out how collaboration, communication and coordination are key in building the Rwanda we want. I am not asking anyone to do the impossible. We need to be strategic and efficient. The opposite would be very costly,” the Head of State added.

He pointed out that as time goes, Rwandans expect a lot from their leaders therefore, cabinet members must endeavour to build on the foundation laid over the last two decades. He encouraged them to do their best towards changing the lives of Rwandans.

The new cabinet is comprised of 31 members; 20 ministers and 11 state ministers. The new cabinet saw the creation of two new portfolios which emerged from the splitting of the former Ministry of Natural Resources into the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Lands and Forestry.

The former Ministry of Youth and ICT was split with the two getting respective ministries. East Africa Community Affairs were moved from the Ministry of Trade and Industry to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.